Ferry Me From Hell, Charon Fallout 3
by ghostsil
Summary: Ember encounters the ghoul, Charon, while on her quest to find her father. After purchasing his contract the two set out to experience the adventures of the Capital Wasteland with each others company. However, as they grow closer, and are thrown into life/death situations, their feelings and their attachment to each other grows. Fallout 3 belongs to Bethesda Softworks LLC
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

The sun beat down relentlessly onto Ember's Vault 101 suit. She moved her hand above her electric blue eyes and took in the world before her. The wasteland was endless and demolished, with buildings and houses littering the earth. She licked her lips which were already drying from the heat, and began walking away from the vault that had nurtured and protected her for the past 19 years. Her heart ached as she realized that she had been evicted from her home. Her heart ached for her father, who had abandoned her without a goodbye. Her heart, along with everything else in her body, ached.

She continued walking on the dry earth and spotted a large circular shaped wall. She squinted to improve her vision and decided to head there and check it out. A friendly robot greeted her as she approached and stated that she was in Megaton. She checked her Pip-Boy and the Megaton map marker appeared. She smiled at the robot and entered the gates.

Her mouth opened slightly in awe as she saw the civilization.

"Ah, a new face." said a low masculine voice.

She glanced at the dark man with a cowboy hat standing in front of her and tilted her head slightly to the side.

The man chuckled and held out his hand. "Name's Lucas Simms, the town sheriff and mayor when the need arises."

She wiped her face with her sleeve and swooped her medium length raven hair into a ponytail. "Ember." She shook his hand hesitantly. She suddenly remembered her father and blurted out, "Have you seen my father? He's a doctor, middle aged, he's from the vault too."

Lucas Simms shook his head. "Maybe you oughta ask Moriarty. He owns the saloon up there."

Ember nodded and immediately jogged in the direction Simms signaled. She spots the saloon and stops to catch her breath outside of the entrance. She takes a deep breath and hopes that this Moriarty guy knows where her father went as she steps inside.

She glances around at the worn out walls and curtains throughout the saloon, and walks up to a man with short blonde hair slicked back. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone named Moriarty? Can you tell me where he is?"

The man smiles and says, "Yeah that's me. Colin Moriarty. Hey i know you. You must be James's kid. You look just like him. He passed through here a little while ago."

Ember's eyes lit up, "Really? Can you tell me where he is? I've been looking for him."

"Well things don't come for free kid. I gotta get paid. How about..100 caps and I'll tell you where your old man went. Deal?"

Her excitement vanished and she looked at her feet. "I don't have any caps.."

"Well sorry kid. Don't waste my time."

A spark of anger rose from within her. She will not leave here empty handed. She felt a stare on her and turned around to find a strange creature from behind the counter looking curiously. He must work here she thought, and headed over to him.

"Hey, smoothskin. Can I get you anything, anything at all? I'm Gob by the way." his voice was raspy but kind.  
"Ember. Do you know anything about a middle aged guy named James passing through here a little while ago?"

"Nah, Moriarty doesn't tell me jack. But I'll tell you a little secret. He usually writes that kinda stuff on his terminal in the office back there. Now you didn't hear it from me, I'm already in a deep enough hole with Moriarty."

"Thanks man. I really owe you one." Ember smiled genuinely at the ghoul.

In disbelief, the ghoul said, "Wait.. you're not gonna hit me? Yell at me? Not even berate me a little bit?"

Ember's eyes widened. "Hit you? Why on earth would I hit you? You helped me.. I owe you a huge favor."

Gob relaxed a little and sighed, "Well, now that's a surprise, I'm used to every asshole smoothskin in this town giving me shit just 'cos I look like corpse."

Ember shook her head and smiled. "Well you won't be hearing any from me."

The ghoul returned her smile and they parted with him saying, "See you soon, smoothskin. Good luck with that terminal."

When Moriarty stepped out of the saloon, Ember quickly darted into the office and approached the glowing green terminal on the desk. She cracked her fingers and began hacking into the system. She used the beginner skills her dad had taught her back in the vault and was in fairly easily. She scrolled through the various entries until she found one regarding her dad. She read until she discovered that he had traveled to the GNR Building Plaza. Her Pip-Boy lit up as a new map marker was added. She grinned for her success and quietly slipped out the backdoor, making sure to toss Gob an appreciative wink on the way out.

The sun was slowly lowering from the top of the sky and she ran to the gates of Megaton. She checked her Pip-Boy and analyzed the location of GNR. She could make it before nightfall if she was quick. She looked at her worn jumpsuit and wondered if she should go back and ask around for some better equipment. She shook her head and assured herself that she could take on anything that stood in the way of her finding her dad. She held her head high and with her weathered vault suit and a 10mm pistol, she headed back out into the Capital Wasteland.

As she trudged along she discovered how horribly she underestimated the surprises of this radiated dump. She encountered mole rats and viscous dogs that attacked in packs of three. If that wasn't bad enough there was the occasional group of raiders scanning for people like her to murder. She cursed when she saw the tear in her sleeve and the vermillion blood that soaked through the fabric. She approached a metal gate and entered into the metro station which was dark and littered with trash and debris. After fighting through the tunnels and traveling a bit longer after that, she saw the GNR building and a group of Brotherhood of Steel soldiers fighting off an enormous mutant. She immediately went to help them although she couldn't do much with her clumsy shooting and blinding fear.

After finally taking down the beast a blonde girl in thick steel armor stood before her.

"Thanks for the help out there. Even though you can't do much with that lousy pistol." She pointed to Ember's hand, which she was subtly trying to hide behind her back. "I was screaming at you to get that Fat Man and kill the mutie but whatever."

Ember looked down in embarrassment for her naivety in combat and then remembered her purpose for being here. She looked up and asked, "Three Dog. Is he here? I need to speak with him, I'm trying to find my father."  
She nodded and motioned to the door of the building. "He's upstairs, just go right on up."

Ember followed the woman into the building and then leaped up the stairs to find Three Dog.

Before she could speak he held up his hand and said, "The look on your face says it all. You're wondering who the heck this guy is and why you should care. Well, prepare to be enlightened."

Ember quickly interrupted, "My father.. He was here. James? I need to find him. Please if you know anything I'd-"

Three Dog smiled and said, "Yeah I know, but in order for you to get anything out of me I need a little favor. You see there's this dish that some stupid mutie decided to shoot on the top of the Washington Monument. That "dish thing" is what lets my station be heard throughout the entire wasteland. Thankfully, there's a replacement, but ya gotta go to the Museum of Technology to get it. Get the replacement, Put it on the tallest thing in DC, and I'll tell you where your dad went."

She was about to protest but her Pip-Boy flashed that bright green and added both markers to her map. She sighed and merely nodded before walking out of the building she had just gotten into. She sighed and realized how tired she was but promised herself she'd rest as soon as she finished this one.

She set out and walked and walked, occasionally checking her Pip-Boy to make sure she was headed the right way. She blended into the night and snuck past oblivious super mutants who scanned for any intruders of their territory. She came up to a large building and saw a girl, who had similar features to Gob, walking around the entrance.

The girl squinted at the movement of Ember and smirked. "Hey Tourist. Name's Willow. On patrol for the Underworld."

Ember, exhausted, mumbled her name and asked the location. Her raven hair blended into the night but her eyes stayed a vibrant hue.

"You're at the Museum of History in the Mall, and you look tired, Tourist. Maybe you oughta head into the Underworld and rest up a bit. It's just through those doors, you'll know it when you see it. Just don't cause any trouble and you should be fine."

Ember nodded thankfully and walked through the entrance until she saw a huge skull that led to the Underworld.

She smiled with relief that she could finally have a place to rest, and proceeded through the doors. Her drowsy eyes widened as she realized the inhabitants of the Underworld were all ghouls. She was greeted with some smooth skin remarks as she walked about but they were easily ignored. She approached a door with a sign saying "The Ninth Circle" and curiously opened it. A few ghouls sat around the small tables and the man behind the counter smirked. To the side in a corner stood a ghoul about a foot taller than her who was very still with his arms crossed and an emotionless face. She stepped over to him.

"Hi.. I was ju-" She began.  
"Uh uh. Talk to Ahzrukhal."  
She cocked her head to the side and began again. "But I jus-"  
"Talk. To. Ahzrukhal."

She walked over to the man behind the counter and glanced back at the cold, mysterious ghoul who was staring straight in front of him in the same position she had first seen him. She was definitely curious, and she wanted to know why he had to be so damn rude. She turned back around to ask the man, Ahzrukhal.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ember plopped down onto a chair in front of Ahzrukhal. She wore an annoyed look on her face and held her head up with her hand on the countertop.

"Well don't you look absolutely miserable. Pull up a stool and lay down a few caps. Tell Uncle Ahzrukhal all about it."

She squinted at him. "You mean, you're not going to tease me and my 'smooth skin'?

His smirk made Ember curious about what kind of things this guy had done, but she concluded that she'd rather not know.

"Ghoul. Human. I don't care. The caps all spend the same. Your misery is my wealth."

A greedy one. Ember thought as she politely refused to accept a drink. She didn't really drink alcohol anyway, nasty stuff. The last thing she needed was to be getting drunk in this place when she had a mission to accomplish, finding her dad.

"What's the deal with that ghoul over there?" She tossed an annoyed look towards the emotionless figure in the corner behind her.

"Who, Charon? He protects the Ninth Circle. I'm his employer, and I own his contract. I point at something and Charon hurts it. He's the best thug a corrupt bartender could ever ask for. He never bothers me with his own annoying sense of morality."

She raised her eyebrows slightly in interest. "His contract? Is he like, your slave?"

Ahzrukhal shook his head. "He's got a messed up past. Let's just say he was kind of, brainwashed. Whatever happened to him is quite the benefit to me though. He is absolutely loyal to whomever holds his contract. Unfailing, unflinching, until the day that employment ends."

Ember was sick to her stomach. She pitied the ghoul and how Ahzrukhal was using him. How could someone brainwash him? She suddenly regretted giving him those nasty looks earlier. She was angry at the people who used and brainwashed him. No one deserves to have the life that he does. She was angry and she was going to help him.

"How can I…obtain his contract?" She leaned forward a little as she spoke.

"You want his contract? Well, he's a pretty important asset to me, so it's gonna cost you. 2,000 caps and his contract is yours."

She nearly choked. "2000 caps?! Holy sh-..Isn't there another way?"

Ahzrukhal gave her another one of his sordid smirks and she gulped. "Well I guess you can do me a favor in exchange. You see, I absolutely hate competition, and Greta, who's directly across from here, is beginning to become a problem."

Ember could already see where this was going as he continued on. "Kill her, and I'll give you his contract."

She frowned and shook her head. "No way. There's no way I'm killing someone for it."

Ahzrukhal looked mildly displeased. "Well its either that or the caps. You decide."

Ember hung her head. She reached into the pack she had taken from a deceased wastelander on her journey here, and pulled out a smaller bag filled with her precious caps. She thought about all the scavenging, the fights with mutants, and the effort she put into getting them. She had been collecting them to buy her a set of armor and a better gun than her damaged pistol. She sighed and in disgust threw the bag to Ahzrukhal. He greedily took it as soon as it landed and pulled out a sheet of paper from the counter.

"Here it is. Knock yourself out." He said as if he thought the 2,000 caps were five times more valuable than Charon. That pissed her off even more. He turned to put the bag of caps into his safe.

"Whoa wait. Aren't you going to tell Charon that you're not his employer anymore?"

Not taking his eyes off the bag he said, "Nah, I'll let you do the honors."

Ember sighed and took the contract. She got up and slowly walked back to the mysterious ghoul, who was apparently Charon. His strength and brutality radiated off of him. The closer she got to him the more intimidated she felt, and she was almost nervous to talk to him again.

"Hi again, I was just goin-"

"Talk to Ahzru-"

She interrupted him this time. "Yeah, yeah I did. Uh. I'm your new employer now. I bought your contract from Ahzrukhal."

His face stayed cold but his tone softened in the very slightest. "You purchased my contract from Ahzrukhal? So, I am no longer in his service. That is good to know. Please, wait here. I must take care of something."

She nodded awkwardly and watched him walk over to Ahzrukhal.

"Ah, came to say goodbye, Charon?" Ahzrukhal said and gave Charon his signature smirk.

Charon nodded and simply said "Yes." before removing his shotgun off his back and shooting Ahzrukhal in the chest. Blood splattered onto the bar's supply refrigerator, and Ahzrukhal fell to the floor. He stayed there, motionless, and the sleazy smirk was gone.

Charon walked casually back to Ember. She was horrified, and her face showed it. She stuttered as she spoke to him.

"W-what the hell did you just do?!"

Charon didn't show any emotion at all, he merely said, "Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard. So long as he held my contract, I was to do as he commanded. But now you are my employer, which freed me to rid the world of that disgusting rat. And now, for good or ill, I serve you."

Ember looked at the several ghouls who were circled around Ahzrukhal's corpse. She glanced at the door and the gears in her head began functioning again. She wiped off any nervousness towards Charon before and her voice filled with authority.

"We need to get out now before they make the connection to us about what happened. Let's go."

Charon nodded and they both quickly exited the door of the Ninth Circle. The other ghouls were looking in their direction as they stepped out, probably curious about the gunshot. All the eyes were on the two of them, and she mistook their stares for accusations. She panicked and ran down the stairs, out of the Underworld, and didn't stop until she was outside of the Museum.

She stopped and breathed heavily, leaning over to put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Charon jogged up to her, without a trace of any physical activity. As soon as she could breath normally again she began walking away from the museum. She heard Charon's light steps behind her.

She turned around and said, "What are you doing? You're free to go you know. I only got your contract so you wouldn't have to be Ahzrukhal's pet anymore."

He stood there, over a foot taller than her with his arms crossed over his chest, and didn't say a word.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Charon. You can go… You're not a slave to me like you were to him. C'mon now."

He looked slightly amused with something on the top of her head and she became self conscious of whatever it was. Before she could ask he raised his shotgun and her eyes widened in fear. As she began to put her hands up to brace herself and beg that he spare her, she could vaguely feel the ground thump rhythmically behind her. He raised his shotgun over her head and fired once. She heard a groan and something fall to the ground behind her. He calmly put his gun back into the holster on his back and she turned around.

A large green humanoid creature laid dead on the ground. Its abnormal bulging muscles had torn through the small shirt it wore. Its face had solidified into a permanent snarl. It was only a few feet away from her. Super Mutant.

She put her hand over her mouth and turned back to Charon, who had resumed his previous stance as if nothing had happened.

She opened her mouth to thank him repeatedly and then some more, but he spoke before she did.

"You are my employer, and I will do as you command."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The moon was high in the sky as Ember walked along the ruined buildings of the Mall. She thought about what she had just done. She blew nearly all her caps, probably got herself exiled from the Underworld, and now she had this ghoul following her around. Sure he had saved her life, and sure he was tall , collected, and muscular, but there are cons to this, she reminded herself. Now they'd have to find double the food, trust each other in sticky situations, and they'd both have to watch each other's back instead of only their own.

"You and your stupid high moral value, Ember." She muttered to herself.

Charon constantly stayed about a yard behind his new employer. He heard her mumbling things occasionally, however he didn't want to disrupt her intense thought process. They have been walking in circles around the mall for half an hour, and the whole time her face has been buried into the advanced technology attached to her arm. He was thankful that she had bought his contract so he wouldn't have to work for Ahzrukhal anymore, but this was silly. He was a tough, highly trained, loyal companion ready to carry out the dirty work of his employer no matter the cost. How did she end up taking the role? She whipped around towards him. Her vivid blue eyes were half closed in exhaustion with her raven hair falling out of the loose ponytail she had it in.

"Do you know where the Museum of Technology is?" She said, embarrassed.

"It's right next to the Museum of History, Miss." He said coolly.

She threw her arms up in exasperation and groaned. "You can't be serious… It was right there the whole time?!"

Charon nodded slightly. She trudged back towards the Museum of History and veered right to the entrance of the Museum of Technology. She stood in front of the door in disbelief and threw her head back, sighing.

"Ugh.. It was right here. Gosh…" She yawned. She stretched her arms up above her head and spotted an abandoned building that looked like it was ripped in half near the museum. She lazily walked towards it and plopped down into the back corner of its first floor.

"At least now we know where it is." Her eyes were already closing and she was lying down as she said her next sentence. "We both oughta get some rest, Charon. Tomorrow we have to go in there and get that dish thing…about that..radio…so Three Dog…can tell me about.. Dad.." She was silent after that, except for soft, deep breaths.

Charon had no idea what she was talking about. He sat against the wall a foot away from his sleeping companion, finally having the chance to get a good look at her. She had taken off her pack and was using it as a pillow. Her hair was darker than the night, and her pale skin emitted a glow from the moon. Her ravaged vault suit was torn across her arm, with a dark stain from blood. He compared his own deteriorating skin to hers. She was flawless, even with her dusty, ripped jumpsuit. He leaned back into the wall and closed his eyes. He wouldn't dare. She was strictly, and merely his employer. But damn she was flawless.

Ember's eyes fluttered open, and the sunlight leaking in from a crack in the wall was blinding. She looked around until she saw Charon's legs, and followed his frame until she saw his eyes, still emotionless as before. She pulled herself up and her muscles instantly made her regret it with pulsing pain. She winced and slowly stood, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked at Charon then checked her Pip-Boy. She glanced at the time and gasped. She had never slept so long in her life.

"Dish! Tall Thing! Three Dog! COME ON." She exclaimed breathlessly to Charon as she ran to the Museum of Technology entrance.

If she didn't make up for all that lost time, she'd never find her dad , she thought to herself. Charon jogged behind her. She visciously threw open the door and froze when she was greeted by a super mutant. She reached for her pistol and implanted 3 bullets to its skull. The mutant dropped and her veins coursed with adrenaline. She grinned and hoped she could continue redeeming herself after the embarrassment of getting lost in a fairly small area. She moved forward slowly, crouching to minimize the noise of walking, as another super mutant emerged. Her head snapped to the mutant and she shot at it as it charged for her. She had hit it but her weak pistol hardly dealt any damage to its body. Charon shot its head clean off from behind her.

"Thanks." She said and he nodded. She realized she hadn't explained anything to him since they fled the Underworld. "We have to get a replacement dish for the GNR station. This guy, Three Dog, knows where my dad went, so I have to do this for him in order to get any information." She located the picture Three Dog had given her on her Pip-Boy and showed it to Charon before continuing on.

"It's here, on the Virgo II Lunar Lander in the west wing. After we get it we've got to go to the Washington Monument, and put it on the very top. Then we can head back to GNR and rest up. I know where that is so I promise I won't get lost again." She laughed and then her face turned serious. "We've got to make up for all the time I slept so I can find my dad."

Charon noticed a hint of sorrow that ignited in her eyes, and it vanished just as fast, extinguished by the deep blue. Without another word they moved quickly throughout the museum, Ember doing as much damage as she could, and if it wasn't enough, Charon would finish them off with his shotgun. They battled through multiple super mutants and robots until finally reaching the Lunar Lander. She fished through its parts until she grabbed the steel dish that was untainted and preserved, unlike the other artifacts which were mostly ruined. She grinned at her achievement and looked at Charon. She realized how grateful she was to have him there to back her up, and just for the simple company. Shoving the dish into her pack, she signaled to him that it was time to go.

They walked casually, but quickly back through the way they came. It was awfully silent since they had cleared out the place, except for their footsteps. Even as they exited the museum, things were quiet. She was surprised to see the sun already lowering back into the earth, and picked up the pace a bit. She pointed to the tallest building in the city.

"It's that one over there." She was almost there. She would get to the top, fix the stupid dish, and Three Dog would help her find Dad. How close she was boosted her motivation . Her walk turned into a jog, then a run, until she was sprinting to get there. Charon, who was much taller, easily kept up with long strides.

They arrived at the Washington Monument gate which was guarded by two Brotherhood of Steel soldiers.

"I have to get through to fix the dish on top of the monument." She exclaimed.

The soldiers looked Charon up and down in disgust and scoffed, "Sorry local, you're not bringing that zombie in there with you."

Ember's blood went from warm to boiling in a split second. Charon noticed her expression and calmly said, "It's fine, Miss. I'll wait out here."

Ember glared at the soldiers. "No Charon, I need your help. You are coming with me." She forced her words into the soldiers' skulls. They looked at each other and without saying any more, spoke into the intercom. The gate slid open and Ember happily walked through, Charon following shortly behind.

They walked until they found the elevator door to the top of the building. Ember turned to Charon as they stepped inside, "You shouldn't let people treat you like crap."

"It doesn't bother me, Miss." He replied without a change in his eyes or face.

"It bothers me. They don't even know you."

He didn't reply. The elevator door opened and she took out the dish from her pack. She walked across the floor carefully and found the old ruined one. She replaced it efficiently and as she turned back to the elevator she was mesmerized by the view of the entire wasteland. Her eyes glistened with curiosity. She wanted to explore every inch, and with Charon to back her up, she could. The excitement, She thought. She was anticipating all the adventures to come with him. How much more she could do now that she had someone as skilled as he by her side. All her doubts fled her mind. She didn't regret obtaining his contract. She was happy to have him there, and she hoped it would stay that way.

She walked, still smiling to herself, back into the elevator where Charon stood, and pushed the button to go back down. As she traveled the short disance back to the open gates of the monument, she looked behind at Charon who was following her like a slave. She smiled kindly at him.

"Come stand on the side of me, Charon."

He nodded, "As you wish, Miss.", and moved up to the side of her. He still kept a couple of feet between them, but she figured it was a start.

"You don't have to call me Miss you know. My name is Ember. You can call me that if you want."

He stayed silently beside her and she looked down at her feet while they walked.

"Charon?" She said quietly.

"Yes, Miss?" She laughed softly as she heard her new name again.

"Thanks for being here."


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ember burst into the door of the GNR building with a massive grin on her face. Woo! That's right, Ember. You made it! She mentally patted herself on the back. She trotted up the stairs to Three Dog with her head held high. The Brotherhood soldiers glanced at Charon but didn't say anything, probably because of the excessive happiness radiating from Ember, which made them stare at her instead.

Charon watched his employer prance up the stairs happily until they encountered the dark-skinned man standing near a complicated board of technological buttons. His face and every muscle in his body stayed cold but at his very core, he admired her and her innocence. He would never say this but he hadn't stopped thinking about how kind she had been to him back at the monument. He wasn't used to this kind of treatment, and it didn't surprise him since all of his previous employers were conniving and evil. As the girl and the man saw each other, their smiles widened into childish grins.

The dark man spoke first, "Kid." he paused, "You, are a saint."

Ember's cheeks flushed a rose pink but her grin stayed the same, "I fixed it for you, and boy it was hell to get to." She meant with all the mutants, but remembered that little event of her getting lost, and the blush in her cheeks deepened. She wondered if Charon was thinking about that, but was too embarrassed to look at him. She began to ask Three Dog the question she longed to be answered.

He already knew, "Your old man headed down to Rivet City. He said he had some research to do with a lady named Doctor Li."

He looked as if he had more to say but Ember excitedly nodded and turned to leave. She waved to him and said an enthusiastic thank you while bounding back down the stairs. Three Dog's laughter could be faintly heard behind her. She exited the building to check the precious new map marker added to her Pip-Boy. She groaned in distaste and Charon waited for her explanation.

"Its so freaking far away! Gee Dad, walk a little slower. At least we know where he is, and hopefully he'll stay there a while," she paused to look down at her vault suit and pistol, "'Cause I seriously need to get some new stuff." She remembered that town she stopped in before coming here, Megaton, and figured she'd head back there to get some equipment and a nice stash of caps to support her, Charon, and eventually her dad when she was strong enough to catch up to him.

Her last glance at the map marker finalized her decision, as she realized that it was further to the right of the city. She had noticed that the farther to the right she traveled, the scarier things she encountered; and she was not about to dive into that with a nearly broken pistol and a ragged jumpsuit.

She held out her Pip-Boy for Charon to see and signaled towards Megaton. "That's where we've got to go next, they have people there we can trade with, and food." Her eyes glistened dreamily at the last part.

He didn't point out that the distance to Rivet City was shorter than to the destination she recommended, he just nodded and figured she had her reasons, whatever they may be.

"Alright lets leave now and get there by the end of tomorrow." She grinned.

Charon nodded but in his mind he knew that with this girl, they would never make it in one day. So far, he was absolutely correct.

After three hours of walking and tripping over dead brush and debris, Ember was annoyed and exhausted. It was still nighttime, so the sun wasn't a problem, but damn. The fiery motivated girl who stormed to the GNR building to find answers about her father was long gone. She readjusted her pack, shut her eyes momentarily, and gave herself a mental pep talk. Just a few more miles and I'll bet it'll pop up! Don't give up now!

She glanced beside her at Charon, who hadn't broken a sweat, his breathing as quiet and calm as ever. She thought to herself, how in the heck, and just wiped the thought from her mind and continued on., envying him and his top physical shape.

Not even an hour after that, she was really feeling the effects of all this traveling. Her legs were numb, and the pack she carried seemed to grow heavier with each step. Her face was coated in sweat, and she stopped frequently to stand and motivate herself to go a little further.

Charon watched her closely from behind. She had definitely beat the time he thought she would last, but he could tell that she was nearing her breaking point. She was torturing herself, continuing on like that when she knew she had to rest. He almost felt bad for being in such good shape, as he knew she was trying her hardest not to slow him down.

He watched her take another step and tilt over to the left. He stepped beside her and caught her in his arms before she fell completely.

"Miss." He said quietly. As he grabbed her he noticed that her eyes were shut and her small frame was weak and limp. He didn't say any more and pulled her gently onto his back. She used the last of her energy to wrap her arms loosely around his neck, and melted into him with exhaustion.

He held her with his arms wrapped under her thighs and continued walking, occasionally glancing at the map on her Pip-Boy to stay on track. He was surprised at how light she was, at how fragile she felt, and the effect of her slumber on him. He found himself adjusting every possible thing he could to avoid disrupting her sleep, like silencing his steps, staying far from any detectable movement, and walking slowly but efficiently.

She unconsciously nuzzled her head into the side of his neck, and he could feel and hear her soft, deep breaths.

Strictly, and merely my employer. he told himself. He repeated that in his mind and shoved down all the feelings slowly emerging from deep within him. He was disgusted at himself for so easily softening. Why is this happening. he asked himself, he had never encountered this before. He needed to stop it. He needed to stop it before it was too late. After all, she was strictly and merely his employer, he reminded himself again.

Ember woke to the that damn excruciating heat beaming down onto the back of her neck. She yawned and opened her eyes slowly, and could see Megaton about a mile away. Then she noticed where she was, and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"P-put me down!" She blushed hysterically.

Charon gently let her onto the ground and stood there in front of her, not a feeling detectable on his face.

Her cheeks were flushed and she calculated the distance Charon must have traveled in the past few hours. She was amazed at his efficiency but was embarrassed that she had to be carried around while she slept. Oh god, she thought. What if I drooled?! She let out a tiny shriek and refused to look at Charon's face. She huffed, adjusted her pack, and walked as casually as possible through the last stretch to Megaton.

She entered the civilization and took a deep breath. She had never done this much work in her life. Back in the vault, the biggest threat to her was Butch, who had been mean to her ever since she could remember. Asshole. she squinted her eyes into a glare as she thought of him. If only he knew what was out here, then I bet he wouldn't be as tough.

She saw Lucas Simms walking around in front of the entrance as usual and asked him about where she could buy some equipment. He pointed to a building behind him and stated that it was Craterside Supply. She thanked him and headed up there as quickly as possible. As she walked in she noticed a man standing guard near the front desk. She remembered her first encounter with Charon and figured the man wouldn't want to talk to her anyway.

A lady greeted her enthusiastically, "Hi there! I'm Moira Brown, proud owner of Craterside Supply. What can I do for you?"

"Lucas Simms said you sell some equipment? I'd like to see what you have if that's alright." Ember replied.

"Oh yeah of course. I've got a wide array of weapons, apparel, ammo, even some cool stuff you can use to build your own weapon."

As Moira was telling her about her inventory, Ember stared at the Chinese Assault Rifle in perfect condition sitting on the counter. She blocked out Moira for a second and drifted deep into her imagination, picturing how much better life would be if she had that gun.

She interrupted Moira's speech, "How much for that one over there?" She pointed to the gun she so desperately wanted. She hoped and prayed that somehow Moira wouldn't know it's value, and would sell it to her for a very cheap price.

Moira knew, "That's worth 500 caps. It's basically brand new." She smiled.

Ember's heart broke, she didn't even have 100 caps to give Moira, she spent it all on Charon's contract in an effort to avoid killing Greta. She began to put her hands up and explain that she didn't have the money right now, but she heard something be thrown onto the table.

"There's 700 caps. 500 for the gun, 100 for ammo, 100 for a set of combat armor."

Ember stared in disbelief at Charon. Moira handed Ember the fully loaded gun. It felt heavier than the pistol in her hand, but it also felt powerful. She smiled like a child receiving a new toy. Moira gave Charon the extra ammo and the armor to hold while Ember was gawking at her new firearm.

She was in utter bliss and heard Moira talking to Charon about helping her with research for a book. She also heard her say there would be rewards for everything they helped her with.

"What was that?" Ember said curiously.

"Oh I was just telling your friend here about this book I'm writing for wasteland survival. You see, I'm a little busy to be venturing out into the wastes, so I need someone to do it for me. I'd reward you of course, Stimpaks, schematics, frag grenades, some pretty cool stuff." Moira grinned as she saw Ember's interest in her offer.

Moira went on to continue but Ember beamed with the thought of the rewards and said, "You've got a deal! When can we start?"

Charon stood with his arms crossed and wondered how this would play out due to Ember's impulsiveness and naivety towards the wasteland. He stayed quiet though.

Moira laughed, "Well the first two things I need you to do is head down to the Super-Duper Mart. I've heard that there's a ton of food there, and medicine. Find some and bring them back to me so I can give you your reward."

Ember nodded excitedly and left the store. She heard Moira say, ""Take care, it's a big wasteland, but you know that better than me, right?"

As Charon stepped out she closed the door behind her and turned to him.

"You didn't have to spend all that for me you know."

Charon shook his head, "It's nothing, Miss. Those caps were Ahzrukhal's, and he doesn't have much use for them anymore."

She smiled as Charon handed her the armor. She ducked behind the store and changed with lightning speed. The thick durable fabric doubled her confidence. Bring it on wasteland, she thought.

She grinned at Charon as she emerged in her new attire. "Ready?" She asked him.

"Whenever you are, Miss."

~Thanks so much for following, Motivates me to keep writing :3


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They walked side by side down to the Super-Duper Mart which wasn't far from Megaton.

"Well hopefully now that I've got some better stuff I won't be completely useless." She put her hand behind her head and looked away.

"You are not useless, Miss." He replied.

Ember glanced over at Charon who looked her straight into the eyes. His eyes were a pale blue-green and for a split second, she saw them soften for her.

Her eyes lowered and she smiled to herself. Her heart warmed and everything inside stirred. The Super-Duper Mart was now in their view and they scanned it for any threats. Nothing.

She squinted with suspicion. There's no way a building of food and possibly medicine could be left unprotected. Either the place was completely swept clean and abandoned, or someone was ther-

A bullet whizzed past her head as she heard a raider yell, "Its go time!"

Charon instinctively ripped his gun from its holster and stepped in front of Ember to shield her. "Bastard." He grumbled, and shot a few times.

The raider fell and two more emerged from the side of the building. Charon reloaded and shot the second raider in the shoulder. The raider gripped his wound and screamed curses at him.

Charon, who was normally emotionless with a bored look on his face, smirked in amusement, "What's the matter? Can't stand the sight of your own blood?" he said before finishing the wounded raider off. The last one, a female, turned to run since she was now alone. Ember snuck out from behind Charon and watched the execution. As he raised his firearm and aimed, she watched as the muscles in his arms tensed up in preparation of the recoil. If she hadn't nearly been killed, she would have swooned.

Charon didn't hesitate at all. He would protect Ember with his life, and he had nearly failed. That angered him and he pulled the trigger, dealing a lethal shot to the raider's back. She fell and he looked at the ground in deep thought.

What would he have done if that bullet hadn't missed Ember's head? She would have slipped right through his fingers, just like that. The innocent, spontaneous girl who had saved him from the miserable life he led with Ahzrukhal, would have left. Left without him having the chance to thank her, to repay her for what she did for him.

His eyes were wide open as he realized that despite his efforts to remain cold, merely a loyal employee, she was breaking into the walls he so strongly built around him. Somehow, he had let his guard down, and even though he's only known her for a small amount of time, he was becoming attached to her. His heart of ice nearly ached when he imagined what would have happened had the bullet hit her. He would have never forgave himself for losing something so pure, so easily. For the first time in his life, he would have cared.

Ember looked at Charon's face, and touched his arm lightly. She ripped her hand back when he suddenly flinched away. He looked at her face, which was filled with worry.

"Let's go quickly." He said after he pushed down all those emotions, "Before we waste any more bullets out here."

Ember nodded and they silently crept up to the door of the Super-Duper Mart. She put her ear against the door lightly and listened for any noise. It was quiet enough, but she had learned her lesson. There were more raiders in there.

She knew that she had to sneak in and get the stuff single handedly. She was small and could easily move around undetected. She would go in, get the food, maybe medicine, then get the hell out. She looked at Charon.

"Wait out here and stand guard okay? If there were raiders out here, there's surely some in there too. I'm gonna sneak in and see what I can find. Don't come in unless you hear gunshots."

She could tell that he didn't like the idea of her going alone. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! Promise." She did her best to throw on a grin, even though she was scared as hell.

She gulped and slipped into the door. It was fairly dark except for a few slithers of light from fractures or small windows in the walls. She could see multiple raiders standing guard on the tops of the shelves in the store. She waited for the closest one to face away. As soon as he did, she quickly slid behind a counter to her right. She smiled when she found some boxes of Sugar Bombs and cans of Pork 'n Beans. Her smile spread into a grin when she saw a frag grenade laying conveniently on the shelf at the back of the store.

She quietly put the food into her pack and slowly headed towards the grenade. She was sure it was worth it and told herself that it would save her life one day. She reached the back and held the grenade preciously in her hands. She beamed, although she hadn't completely succeeded yet. She just wanted to get out of there, and quickly moved back the way she came. Not even five feet from the shelf she accidentally kicked a tipped over shopping cart. The sound echoed through the store.

She froze and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She shut her eyes tight and begged that no one heard her.

"Did you hear that? It came from over there." She heard faintly.

God damn. She cursed under her breath at the stupid shopping cart and continued walking very quickly back to the front door.

"Here! She's over here!" She heard a raider yell.

She started sprinting. She could hear bullets ricocheting off the wall onto the shelves beside her.

"Crap crap crap crap crap crap." She repeated over and over as she ran for the door.

The raiders yelled at each other for help and fired blindly in the general direction of Ember.

Her brain told her what she needed to do. "Ah c'mon! I just got my hands on one!" She sniffled and pulled out the grenade as she ran.

Charon flew open the door at the sound of gunfire as she activated the grenade and threw it towards the center of the store. She finally reached the door and Charon slammed it shut as soon as she got out.

"Let's go!" she called and continued running. Charon followed her and they both heard the explosion from within the building.

Ember ran with Charon behind her and didn't stop until she was well away from the Super-Duper Mart. She collapsed to the ground, breathless, and smiled wide.

Charon was about to ask if she was okay, and why she would smile about being nearly killed as she reached into her pack. She showed Charon her open bag and he saw the boxes and cans of food inside.

"I did it! I got the food! I didn't see any medicine but at least we have something." She said between breaths.

Charon relaxed a little and when she wasn't looking, he smiled. What a girl, he thought to himself. He'd been awfully worried while he stood guard outside, and had to force himself to refrain from disobeying an order and going in after her.

After a few minutes of resting and calming down, Ember stood up and told Charon that they should head back to Moira as soon as possible. He nodded and they started walking back together. She told a rather interesting story about her intense need for the grenade and how it would save her life one day. She laughed and said that she hadn't expected the day to be so soon.

They reached Craterside Supply in Megaton and Ember shot Charon a thumbs up as she opened the door.

"Did you get the stuff?" Moira asked as she saw the two of them.

"Yeah, we got it!" Ember replied with confidence and continued, "but the place was a death trap, it was crawling with raiders."

"Well that's a disappointment, but thanks for checking it out! Tell you what, since you worked so hard getting the food I'll let you keep it, and", she paused, "I'll toss in some Iguana Bits too!"

Ember beamed.

"So, ready for the next chapter?" Moira said with a casual smile.

"Next chapter? What." said Ember.

"Of course silly! It is a book after all." Mora laughed.

"Alright, spill it! Whatever you throw at us we can do!" She grinned at Charon who stayed quiet beside her.

"Okay okay, next I want you to reach the playground in the center of Minefield, and if you can, bring me back a frag mine."

Embers grin disappeared, "When you say Minefield, do you mean th-"

Moira's face lit up, "Yup! That's right! The streets are supposedly littered with frag mines!"

Ember laughed in nervousness. She looked over at Charon, who didn't seem bothered at all. She wondered how the hell he could stay so calm all the time.

If only she knew what was happening inside him, and if only she knew it was because of her.

~Thanks for following! It motivates me to keep writing :3


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ember lumbered along the tainted ground of the Capital Wasteland. Minefield...Really? Come on now. She thought to herself. Moira was off her rocker sending them to do stuff like this. She pushed the negative thoughts from her head and envisioned how beautiful those grenades and frag mines would look in her pack. Her eyes glimmered with desire and her walking pace doubled into a jog.

After fighting off a few raiders and walking for what seemed like forever, they finally saw a cluster of damaged houses in the distance. She held on tightly to her new Chinese Assault Rifle, which was a drastic improvement from her old 10mm pistol. This new rifle was absolutely amazing. Absolutely. Amazing. She could take out mutants without difficulty, and it was much better for long distance combat than the pistol. She could never thank Charon enough.

As they approached the area called Minefield, Ember was suddenly overcome with paranoia. Her eyes darted the ground for any foreign objects. She had never seen a mine before, and had no clue what to expect.

She stepped onto the cracked pavement and her Pip-Boy flashed excitedly, alerting Ember that they had reached their destination. Charon followed shortly behind and slowed down to analyze the ground. He squinted to enhance his vision as much as possible and scanned the road slowly. They walked a good distance and hadn't detected anything yet when they heard the sound of a bullet hitting the car directly to their right.

Ember jumped at the sound, for it had been deathly quiet a second before. She looked around in panic for the attacker, blindly swinging her rifle around. Charon instinctively moved in front of her while another bullet ricocheted off the car. Charon thought about how terrible this guy's aim was as another bullet whizzed by. Like the previous attempts, it hit the car, only this one imbedded itself in the gas tank. Charon's eyes widened slightly as he comprehended the attacker's intent. He instantly grabbed Ember's arm and pulled her along while he turned away to run. As if on cue, the next bullet hit the leaking gas and ignited it, causing the car to explode.

Charon practically yanked Ember in front of him, shielding her from the shrapnel of the car. A small but sharp piece viscously implanted itself into the only unarmored part of Charon's shoulder. What are the odds, he thought as he gritted his teeth.

They ran back off of the pavement until they were far enough away, and Charon turned back around to look for anyone following them. He remembered the specific sound of the bullets. They were solitary. Quick. Lethal. It was a sniper. He looked above onto a demolished building and proved himself right. A small but recognizably human figure could be seen on the highest story.

Ember breathed heavily. "What the hell?"

"Sniper, Miss. He's on the tall building straight ahead."

Ember looked highly annoyed, but still had a trace of fear left on her face. "Well, isn't that just lovely."

She caught a glimpse of Charon touching his shoulder in her peripheral vision. She whipped around and grabbed his hand, letting out a small shriek at the sight of his blood.

"You're hurt!" Charon had no say as she immediately started removing the plates of his armor on his shoulder and arm. She pulled out a small medical kit that had already been in the pack when she found it and opened it up, hoping to find something useful. She beamed as she saw the gauze and the two stimpaks in it. Her expression changed to nervousness as she saw his wound.

"We have to get it out, Charon, it'll hurt."

"I know. I trust you, Miss." She flushed a light pink and told him to get ready. He nodded and only adjusted himself a little, also to her benefit.

She hesitated before placing her slender fingers on the piece of metal. She gently but consistently pulled the piece out. Charon tensed up and let out a small growl of pain. She put her other hand over the wound as she grabbed the gauze, and quickly applied pressure while wrapping the wound up. She looked at her hands, stained with Charon's blood.

Charon relaxed a little after his wound was treated and examined Ember's work. Not bad. He turned to Ember who stood in front of him with a sorrowed look.

"Thank you, Mis-" His sentence was cut short as she buried herself into him with an embrace. He froze, slightly shocked, and definitely uncertain of what he should do in return.

"I'm so sorry.." She said quietly as she drew back from him.

He regained composure and shook his head, "No need to be sorry, after all it's my job to protect you."

Ember's heart broke. She had began to think of him as a companion, a friend, and in the depths within her, she wanted him to be something more. Obviously, he wasn't feeling the same way, and that hurt. To him, she was only his employer, someone who would use him and order him around before throwing him away. She turned away so he wouldn't see her eyes tearing up.

She heard him get up, and run to the side. A high pitched beeping sound could be heard before it cut off.

"The frag mine, Miss. So you can receive your reward from Moira."

She pushed the tears back and found her voice, hoping it wouldn't fail her.

"Just hold it while we walk ba-" It cracked. She said nothing else and immediately began walking. Charon didn't say anything, he just quietly walked behind her.

For the first time, Ember had nothing to say on the entire trip back to Megaton. She didn't complain, she didn't turn to him and talk about their latest adventure. She was completely quiet, and it bothered Charon. He didn't say anything to her, he only wondered what he had said that upset her so much. He didn't like this one bit, and spent the time walking back missing her voice and her eccentric stories. He missed her acknowledging him.

She stomped her way up to Craterside Supply and flew open the door. Moira's usual smile dulled as she saw Ember's expression, hurt and offended.

Charon softly put the frag mine on the counter and Ember blew up.

"There's your stupid frag mine. It nearly got us killed. In fact, why are you writing this book anyway? You're living in fantasy land, it's not worth the trouble you're putting yourself in, or the trouble you're putting us in. I don't think this book is a good idea."

Moira looked at her feet and sighed. "Yeah, I kind of knew that already, but I was just so excited that you offered to help so I figured it would all work itself out."

Ember frowned. "Well its not working out. At all. Do something better with your time."

Moira wore a sad expression. "I guess you're right, I need to start working on my repair skills and focusing on the shop. Thanks anyway, here, you can still have those grenades I promised you."

Ember shoved them in her pack and stormed out of Moira's shop, not bothering to wait for Charon.

She stopped after the door shut behind them, and realized what she had done. That book was Moira's dream. Who was she to just completely annihilate it? She debated going in again to take back her words but figured that Moira had just about enough of her.

Today was just a shitty day. She couldn't wait around any longer. No more distractions. She started on her way to Rivet City to find her dad. Then everything would be normal again.

Charon could sense the anger and hurt emanating off of Ember. He was shocked at her actions towards Moira. He wanted to ask her what was wrong. He wanted to know so he could fix it. The thought of Ember being upset tormented him, especially since he knew he was the cause.

She tripped over her own foot and Charon immediately came to her side, gently holding her arms to prevent her fall.

Ember ripped away from his touch. It hurt, to have feelings that aren't and will probably never be mutual. She didn't even care if he only thought of her as a mere companion, but she would never accept an unimportant, unattached employer. Never.

"D-Don't touch me."

Charon's eyes opened with shock. What the hell is happening to me? He thought as he gripped his chest. He backed away a few feet from Ember, who just walked on slowly. Such a small, short sentence. A mere three words, made his chest ache unbelievably. He stared in sorrow at Ember.

"Miss.." He said quietly.

Ember detected the underlying layer of sorrow in his voice. She stopped abruptly and began to turn to face him in hope. No, she thought. He didn't feel anything, especially not for her. She wouldn't let herself be disappointed any more. She hesitated, and continued walking.

They walked for hours in silence. She didn't acknowledge him. She didn't look at him. She just kept walking. The sun lowered into the ground and Ember couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop following me." She said, annoyed.

Charon remained silent, ignoring her request.

Ember, pissed off, faced him directly. "I said stop following me. That's..that's..an order."

Charon caught a glimpse of her eyes as they began to tear up. Ember looked at her feet and braced herself, for crying made her feel vulnerable.

Charon didn't know what to do. "Miss, why are you distressed?"

Her voice quivered as she spoke. "I don't understand..is an employer all I really am to you? I never even wanted to be your employer, I just wanted to help you. To get you away from Ahzrukhal. I shouldn't have went to the Underworld, then this wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have grown attached to you.. I wouldn't feel like this..so...so.."

Her hands shot up to cover her face but Charon could faintly see the glistening of tears from between her fingers.

The walls Charon had spent all his life building up, shattered. Just this once, his brutal, ruthless aura vanished. He stepped forward and pulled her into him.

"You are not just my employer, mistress."

Ember buried herself into him and anticipated his next sentence.

"I'm attached to you also. I live to protect you."


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Ember analyzed the ship towering in front of her. She was curious as to how it could be ripped in half so cleanly. Charon walked closely behind her, which wasn't normal, but she appreciated it. The night before he held her and washed away all of her doubts. He didn't say anything now, but he didn't need to, Ember was completely content.

Charon's normal intimidating aura returned and doubled. Knowing she also had an attachment to him motivated him to protect her. He wouldn't let anything near her.

"Rivet City, Miss." He said calmly.

Ember turned to face him and smiled, nodding slightly. They walked along a metal bridge stretching from the land onto the deck and entered the door to the left. After asking around for Dr. Li, they arrived at the science lab in Rivet City. A thin Asian woman wearing a pressed white lab coat could be seen. Ember jogged to her excitedly.

"Excuse me, are you Dr. Li?"

The woman turned around and nodded confidently. "That's me."

Ember beamed and said, "M-my father! He's here isn't he? James, where is he?"

Dr. Li's eyes were wide. "Ember? My have you grown. No, I'm sorry. James left here a few days ago. He headed over to the Jefferson Memorial to resume research on Project Purity."

Ember's heart dropped in her chest. She wanted to find him already. She wanted to find him and make him tell her why he abandoned her like that. She missed him, and every time someone told her those all too familiar words, "He was just here, but he's not anymore", she got more and more discouraged. She regained her composure and kept mentally telling herself she was almost there, that she was so close to finding him.

"Project Purity?" She said after picking herself back up emotionally.

Dr. Li nearly scoffed. "Hasn't he told you about it? Project Purity. The water purification plan your parents and other scientists, including me, were researching before the tragic loss of your mother."

Charon's eyebrows raised slightly. He hadn't learned much about Ember's past. He just knew that she had a burning intent on finding her father.

"No...I've never heard of it.." Ember said, with a slightly offended tone.

"Oh..Well the plan was to build a facility that could purify all the water in the Tidal Basin at once. No radiation, no muck, just clean water."

Ember drifted into a distant memory of her childhood.

_"Revelation 21:6: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. I shall give unto him who is athirst the fountain of the waters of life freely."_

_Ember giggled and clapped her toddler sized hands together, smiling at her dad. "What's that Daddy?"_

_James knelt in front of his only child and put his hands on her petite shoulders. He smiled, but his eyes were sad._

_"That was your mother's favorite scripture from the Bible. I always remember it when I miss her."_

_He moved one of his hands onto Ember's head and ruffled her hair slightly. "You can remember it when you miss her too, sweetie." _

_Ember's large, childlike eyes stared at her father with concern, and she hugged him. The gate to her play pen closed as he walked slowly, sadly, away from her nursery._

Her heart ached as she realized the inspiration for her father's research. "Where is he again?"

"Jefferson Memorial, it's not that far from here actually."

Ember nodded and smiled in appreciation. "Thanks for your help Doc."

Without another word she ran from the science lab, out of Rivet City, and across the metal bridge. She bent over and held her chest.

"That...that research project. Project Purity... It was for my mother." She said between breaths.

Charon stayed beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Miss.."

Ember went on. "Revelation 21:6: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. I shall give unto him who is athirst the fountain of the waters of life freely."

She took a few seconds to catch her breath and stood up straight. "It was my mother's favorite scripture. She died giving birth to me."

"Miss, we don't have to talk about thi-"

"He loved her so much, Charon, with everything he had. I never really forgave myself for taking her away from him. We need to find him. We need to find him right now, Charon. Right now."

He nodded and signaled to the Jefferson Memorial, only a few hundred feet away from the ship. Ember ran with her entire heart and soul urging her on. She thought about those years he went on, tortured and lonely from his loss. It motivated her to run faster than she had ever before. _I'm so sorry Dad..I'm so sorry for taking Mom from you.._

She ran blindly until she felt Charon pull on her shirt from behind. She came to an abrupt stop and turned to him.

"Super mutants, Miss, around the building."

Ember was devastated. "_What?_" She said horrified. Her dad was in there! How could there be super mutants there too? She yanked out her rifle and signaled to Charon.

He nodded and they advanced towards the building. A super mutant spotted them and howled to his companions, signaling intruders. Ember shut him up viciously by delivering a head shot. A combination of anger and adrenaline coursed through her.

She took down several super mutants effortlessly, and Charon hardly needed to help. He smirked while gripping his shotgun, impressed with her sudden skills of combat. _Ember, the coal of a dying fire that refuses to be extinguished._

With hardly any bullets wasted, and many corpses of super mutants, they had fought their way to the Rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial; well, mostly Ember.

"Dad?" She called out while scanning the area for any more threats. There was no answer. She walked up the stairs and shot a super mutant brute who came running at her. He wasn't in here. She screamed in disappointment and her voice echoed off of the walls. She ran up the rest of the stairs and into a circular room located in the middle. She saw a holotape on one of the tables and hesistantly slipped it into her Pip-Boy. There was a faint vibration coming from it as the holotape began to play.

_"I'm off to Vault 112 to search for anything of Braun's that might help me get this purifier up and running. All I know is that it's West of some place called "Evergreen Mills," and it's well hidden in some sort of garage. But I'll find it, I have to. It's so close, but that's the story of Project Purity, isn't it? An eternity of "almost there's". Let's see if Braun has the missing puzzle piece."_

Her Pip-Boy went silent and Ember nearly cried. "God dammit Dad!" She sunk to the floor and sighed. Charon knelt next to her, slipping his shotgun back into its holster. Her eyes were downcast and she immediately got up and walked the same way they came.

Strolling through the quiet, abandoned Jefferson Memorial, Ember grumbled under her breath, occasionally turning to Charon for support.

"Stupid super mutants and their stupid hunting rifles. Stupid Moira and distracting me from finding Dad. Stupid _me_ for getting distracted!" She turned her head to Charon while walking "Wasn't this just a huge waste of precious damn time?" He simply nodded, happy to see her as her old self again.

He stayed only slightly over a foot behind her, generally enjoying her company. She tripped over the leg of a flipped metal table and completely exploded.

"Gah! What the hell, table?! Screw you too!" She kicked the table and, realizing it was completely metal, clinged to her foot in pain.

Charon couldn't help but smile. He adored this girl. She recovered and walked angrily through the rest of the building, swearing up a storm.

_Maybe they should have named her Inferno, the endless fire._ He thought to himself and chuckled softly.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"God dammit.." Ember said under her breath.

Charon smirked as he had already predicted what was happening. Over the past few days, he found it easier and easier to reveal his emotions to her. Occasionally, he slipped out of his ruthless character for a few seconds, offering Ember a light smirk, a soft laugh, a small sympathetic expression. Shortly after, however, he slipped back into his usual self. He watched her analyze her Pip-Boy, and gaze over the small building in front of them. They had circled around it who knows how many times. She growled and cursed at her Pip-Boy, accusing it of being stupid, and other much worse, unspeakable things. Charon crossed his arms over his chest and waited patiently. Finally, she sighed and turned around slowly to face him.

"Charon. We're lost. This stupid thing says Vault 112 is here but there's no door! My vault's door was hidden deep inside a cave. Do you see any freaking caves around here? No!" She said bluntly.

"Vault 112, Miss? I've heard of it before. It's located inside of Smith Casey's Garage? I'm assuming its this building here."

Ember sighed in disgust and threw open the door of the garage. She looked around avidly and nearly scoffed when there was nothing promising to be found. She turned back to Charon. He looked around and took long strides towards an electrical switch on a nearby wall. He flipped the switch and revealed a case of stairs leading down to the entrance of Vault 112.

"Miss." He said while directing her towards the entrance with a movement of his head.

She smiled as if to say _oh please_ and stopped on the side of the door. She curtsied and held out her hand.

"Only after you, Master." She said in a playful tone.

Charon laughed lightly and walked in first, examining the flawless condition of the vault. It had been untainted by the horrors of the wasteland, and was honestly quite mesmerizing. He quietly admired the place as Ember walked in after him. Her reaction, of course, was never quiet.

"Aw, man! This place is awesome!" She said as she ran her fingers across the walls. She turned to Charon with her eyes glistening. "Isn't this cool?!"

He smiled at her and nodded. She returned his smile and they followed a friendly robot towards a unique set of simulation pods. She could see that all were occupied but one, and looked into nearby pods to see if the individuals inside were alive. She was relieved to find that they were as the robot explained procedures to enter the simulation. She looked at Charon, who had a slightly worried look on his face.

"Maybe it'll give me clues about my dad or something. Besides, if anything goes wrong you'll be here to save me, right?" She assured him, and herself.

"You really love your dad, don't you, Miss?"

Ember nodded and sat in the chair of the simulation pod. She took a deep breath and gave a thumbs up to Charon, who stood closely to the pod and awkwardly next to the robot. She activated the simulation and let her mind be slipped into it.

She suddenly felt unprotected and vulnerable as her eyes opened. The absence of color was alarming, as was the absence of her protective gear. She quickly felt her sides and back for her weapons, which had disappeared. She instinctively looked to her right arm for her Pip-Boy, which had been replaced by a simple watch. The environment had changed and she was now in a circular neighborhood with multiple houses and civilians strolling around casually. She turned around to ask Charon what the hell happened, and was disappointed as she remembered that he wouldn't be there. Already missing him, she sulked a little and looked around for promising people to talk to. A small blonde girl motioned for her to come. She ran to the girl and immediately started interrogating her.

"What is this place? Who are you? Where are my weapons and Pip-Boy? How is this-"

"You're in Tranquility Lane. I'm Betty, and weapons? What are you talking about."

"Betty, what-?"

"If you want to play with me you have to go make Timmy cry." She interrupted.

"Make Timmy cry? Why?"

"Because you have to. If you want to play with me that is. I always make Timmy cry, it's fun."

Ember attempted to protest but Betty once again interrupted, "I'm not talking to you until you do."

Ember sighed and found a young boy at a lemonade stand near one of the houses. "Uh..Timmy?"

The boy beamed, "Hi! You're new! I'm Timmy. Want some lemonade?"

Ember shook her head, "N-no..Uh, that girl over there, Betty? She told me to make you cry. Do you two not like each other or something?"

Timmy frowned, "Make me cry? Yeah, that seems like something she would say. She's really mean to me for some reason, she always makes me cry."

Ember looked back at Betty who motioned for her to go on. She decided to get creative. "U-uh..Timmy? Your parents are going to get a divorce because of you. Yeah, I heard them talking about it. It's pretty much all your fault."

Timmy glared at Ember and crossed his arms. " No they're not. You're just saying that to be mean. Go away! I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Ember made several attempts to talk to him again but he refused to listen. Out of options, she walked up to Timmy and gave him a good shove.

"Hey! What are you doing!" He said as he tried to shove her back. He was slow and clumsy, which made it easy for Ember to push him another time onto the ground. She thought about her dad and how this was absolutely essential to finding him, even though she felt terrible doing it.

Timmy fell to the sidewalk with a thud and stayed there, his eyes welling up with tears. "Y-you're mean!" The tears poured over the rims of his eyes and Ember's heart ached. She reached out to help him up and apologize but he flinched away from her hand and ran into the house behind them. She held a sad expression as she walked back to Betty, who smirked with approval.

"I saw you push him on the ground. Nice one! I can talk to you now." She said.

"No that was mean. I wish I didn't do it. In fact, I don't even want to talk right now." Ember said, annoyed. She turned around and intended to ask other civilians on where she was. She walked up to an old woman who looked nice enough. "Excuse me. I'm Ember! Can you tell me what this simulation is?"

The old woman excitedly said, "I'm not insane! I knew it...That little blonde girl over there isn't who you think she is. This is all a false reality. The only way out is the abandoned house!"

Ember took in the information and was frightened by the woman's tone. She sounded terrified, and Ember assured her that she would look into it. She walked north to the abandoned house and stepped inside. A failsafe terminal appeared and devoured its information. She discovered that Betty was actually Braun, the scientist dad was looking for, and that this was a false reality he created for the vault occupants, in which he would murder and spawn endlessly. She was disgusted and almost immediately after, activated the Chinese Invasion failsafe. She stomped angrily out of the house and towards Betty, who held an infuriated expression.

Betty's voice was no longer of a little girl's but was of masculinity. "Do you realize what you've done?! You've triggered the failsafe! Ruined everything! The subjects will die and I'll be stuck here in this hell! Alone!"

"You're evil, Braun. How can you do this to them? You're sick, and evil, and insane."

He scoffed, "Oh please, kid. Just get the hell out; and take your stupid father with you."

Ember's face paled, "My father? Where is he, Braun?!"

"The _dog_, you unintelligent, impulsive witch! Now, get out!" He growled, still in his deceiving childlike disguise.

Ember turned around to find a dog directly behind her. She hesitated before speaking to it, "D-dad?" The dog barked in approval. Ember was ecstatic. A door appeared on the side of Betty and she opened it for herself and her dad. They leaped in as the civilians of tranquility lane were executed by soldiers.

Ember woke up to Charon's worried face. Her eyes focused and she swung her legs to the side of the chair.

"Miss."

She ignored him, looking around desperately for her father, who had entered the door with her.

"Ember?" The voice came from behind her, and she nearly leaped from her seat. His voice was of the same pitch and tone, with a little ounce of exhaustion. She jumped from the pod, turned around, and ran to her father, throwing herself into him. She didn't even attempt to stop her tears as they embraced.

"Ember." Her father said, partly comforting her, partly reassuring himself.

* * *

~Sorry if it seems rushed :( Just wanted to get this chapter over with so I could work on some better stuff ;D

Reviews are highly appreciated!


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Charon and Ember walked casually back to Rivet City. After exiting the simulation of Vault 112, James notified Ember that he would be heading back to Rivet City in order to meet with Doctor Li, in regards to Project Purity. Ember walked happily beside Charon. She was finally satisfied, for she had found her father, _saved_ him. On the way to Rivet City, they had stocked up on ammo and Ember had her armor repaired.

"Thanks for helping me find my dad, Charon." Ember said appreciatively.

"It's nothing, Miss." He said, being generally happy for her.

They arrived at the familiar ship and took their time walking across the metal bridge.

"In the simulation, I missed you 'ya know." She said matter-of-factly.

Charon glanced at her curiously, "Oh?"

"Yeah, I was kind of lost. As soon as I got in there I turned around to bug you about where we were." She laughed, embarrassed.

Charon didn't reply, but her saying that made him feel good. A warm sensation flooded his body. They consulted with the doctors in the science lab, who agreed to meet them at Jefferson Memorial, the "headquarters" of Project Purity. They didn't really mind the presence of Charon, just gave cautious looks due to that aura. Ember and Charon kept a few yards between the group of scientists as they traveled to the Jefferson Memorial. They stopped in front of the entrance.

Ember left Charon's side and approached her father, who met her halfway.

"What's wrong, dad? Why are we waiting out here?"

"The memorial still has some super mutant threats in it. Do you mind clearing the place before we go in?"

Ember tilted her head to the side, shocked that her father would want her to put herself in danger while they all waited out here. She brushed the thought away and smiled at her dad.

"Yeah, of course! I'm happy to help. I'll just be a minute, then. Charon and I will take care of it, dad, don't worry."

James put his hand on Ember's shoulder, "Thanks, sweetie. I knew I could count on you."

Ember smiled genuinely and motioned for Charon to back her up. They entered, once again, into the building. The super mutant carcases from before were still present, deteriorating very slowly.

"We pretty much cleared it out, except for the basement." Ember said, pleasantly. She didn't particularly enjoy hunting for the predators that hunted _her_, so she was thankful that over half of the job was already completed.

Charon paid attention, but wasn't as attentive as usual. He was wondering what her father's logic was. First, he had abandoned her and fled the vault. Plus, he was separated from his daughter for all this time, and now he just asked her to put her life in jeopardy for a bunch of wispy scientists? He didn't get it, but he wouldn't say anything for Ember's sake. He knew how much she loved him. Anyone would figure that out by her sheer persistence in finding him. They set foot in the basement, and began their massacre of the remaining super mutants.

It was terribly quiet, and Ember silenced her footsteps, walking slowly, cautiously, down the narrow paths of the basement. As she approached a doorway she could faintly hear the low rumbling voices of super mutants. She tensed up as the adrenaline was released into her veins.

"You hear that?" She whispered to Charon.

"Yeah, sounds like there's a fair few of them."

Ember took a step back, closing the space between the two of them. She whispered jokingly. "Well, 'oh experienced one', how should we go about doing this?"

Charon smirked, stood up straight, and walked casually to the entrance of the room. "Watch closely, my fledgling." He said before unleashing the monster within him, and effortlessly executing the three super mutants inside. Only a few seconds, a few shots later, it was deathly silent again, and Ember stood there in disbelief. She marched up next to Charon, who held out his hand for her to enter and observe his work. As predicted, the bodies of the mutants laid still on the floor, a pool of blood emerging from beneath them.

"You make it look too easy." She said in disgust.

Charon felt good, and he played along with her. "Oh I'm sure one day you'll be as good as me, Little Ember."

Ember's lips shrilled up into a smirk. She blinked multiple times, daring Charon to question her expression. He gave in. "What?"

"You called me Ember!" She said with a victorious grin.

Charon laughed at her easy amusement, "What was that, Miss?"

"Oh no! You can't do that. I heard it! You called me Ember, Mister overly-polite-and-collected. See, no more of that stuff. We're friends, 'ya know? It's just weird if you call me Miss all the time."

Charon let go of the final scraps of the wall keeping him from her. He raised his eyebrow and smiled as he began walking again, "Whatever you say, kid." He glanced back at Ember, whose lips began to protest.

"K-kid?!"

Charon turned his head back to the front and smiled while he continued walking. Ember stomped up right next to him, a small frail ball of fire.

"Hey, you just wait a minute! I'm no kid! I'll have you know I'm well off into adulthood! Just because you're an old man and I'm young and beautiful doesn't mean-"

Charon couldn't get enough of this girl. He was glad she ran into him at the Ninth Circle. He was glad it was her who obtained his contract. But most of all, he was ecstatic that their relationship had gotten more casual and friendly, instead of the usual employment crap. They finished off the remaining mutants and walked side by side back to the scientists outside of the building. James approached them and raised an eyebrow at their sudden closeness, but ultimately ignored it.

"Is it all clear in there?" James asked.

"Yeah, it's clear." Ember confirmed.

"Alright, great." He said before gathering the scientists and entering the building. Charon and Ember, as usual, stayed behind the pack. They observed the scientists as they examined their old research area. Ember nudged Charon and signaled to a few of them who made disgusted noises as they saw the various mutant carcases scattered around. Ember giggled and Charon smiled and shook his head. After everyone had "settled", Ember spotted her dad rearranging some damaged books on a nearby table.

"Hey wait here, I'm just gonna talk to my dad for a bit." She told Charon as she jogged to her dad. She hadn't had the chance to actually talk to him yet, and she didn't want to wait any longer.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?" He said, his eyes were still focused on the various books in front of him.

"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about some things."

James stopped and turned to his daughter, whose eyes were sad. "I know what you want to ask me. Why did I leave the vault without you? Why didn't I tell you? Look, Ember, I didn't mean for you to feel abandoned, the plan was for you to stay in the vault and live a safe happy life. You understand that, don't you?"

Ember couldn't understand. "No dad, why couldn't you have just told me? I was so confused, so unprepared. I needed you and you just left me without saying bye, without saying anything! How could you do that? I couldn't stay there, they tried to _kill_ me, dad."

James frowned, "I couldn't have told you or you would have followed me out, but you did that anyway didn't you? You're grown up now, Ember, I can't hold your hand all the time anymore."

She stared at her feet and accepted that there would be no winning this battle.

"I guess that's all I wanted to ask then. Do you need any more help around here or anything?" Ember said, trying to get rid of the feeling that her dad didn't care about her anymore. He asked her to carry out some maintenance tasks to get the project up and running while the others got back to work. She completed them half-heartedly with Charon helping her out. He tried to talk to her about what happened, but it was obvious she didn't want to discuss it. He wanted to give James a good punch for being so insensitive and accusing her of being the cause of her own sorrow.

"Do you have any family, Charon?"

"No, they're all gone now. How do you feel?"

"Oh, I'm fine, just figured I'd get more out of talking to him, I guess. Ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. It's alright though. You finally found him, things will get better, alright?" He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Ember nodded and walked up to a nearby intercom. "Dad? We're all finished down here. What do you want us to do now?"

"Great, just come back up...Wait..there's actually some blockage in the intake pipes-"

"Yeah, we're on it." She looked over at Charon and rolled her eyes. "You heard the man."

Charon nodded and they headed into the intake pipes and activated the drain valve. Walking back, obviously in no rush, they conversed casually. He cheered her up by recalling some of the past situations they had gotten into, and was rewarded each time with her laugh and opinions on the topic. They exited the intake pipes and was greeted by a lovely Enclave soldier with a tri-beam plasma rifle. Ember jumped in her skin and fumbled for her weapon. Charon, who was practically impossible to shock, shifted smoothly into combat mode and took out the soldier.

"What the hell? What are the Enclave doing here?" She said, shifting her gun in her hands. They advanced quickly, taking out the soldiers, who were tougher than any enemy Ember had faced before. Ember picked up one of the laser rifles, and used it to deal a critical shot to a soldier behind her.

"Aw..cool.." She said as the soldier fell. They ran to the rotunda and flew open the door. An enclave soldier was guarding it and raised his rifle to Ember's chest. Out of primal instinct, she raised her gun and shot multiple times. The soldier dropped his weapon and fell.

"Meep..." Said Ember. She looked up to the control room and saw Dr. Li standing outside of it with her hands on the glass windows. She ran up to her and saw her expression, horrified. Ember turned her head to see what Dr. Li was looking at, and her entire body went cold. Her father and another scientist was locked in the control room with two Enclave soldiers and Colonel Autumn. She could faintly hear the conversation occurring inside.

"Sir, this is the last time I am going to repeat myself. Stand down at once and turn over control of this facility."

"The Enclave has no right over such a private project, please leave."

Colonel Autumn signaled to the soldiers. They fired upon the unarmed scientist, whose body went limp and collapsed to the ground. The Colonel wore a satisfied look and turned back to James. His content expression vanished as he saw him pressing a sequence into the control panel. Ember saw the Colonel inject himself with an unknown substance and go unconscious as gases flooded the locked chamber. The enclave soldiers gasped for air and dropped after a few seconds. Ember realized what was happening and pounded on the glass windows. Her dad turned around, clung to his chest, and fell to the floor. Through the glass, Ember sunk down with him, the tears nearly blinding her.

She was at eye level with her father, who hardly struggled anymore. He looked her straight into the eyes, and mouthed the word, _run._

"Dad!" Ember screamed as her father's movements ceased, and he laid still on the ground, dead.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Ember sobbed uncontrollably. "Dad.." She groaned with anguish, over and over again. Her hands were pressed against the glass, and she couldn't take her eyes off of her dead father. Charon stood behind her and looked away. He couldn't stand to see her like this. He had seen her cry before, but this, this was pure agony escaping through her eyes. "Dad..please.."

Dr. Li's voice quivered as she spoke. "W-we need to get out of here, Ember. We need to get everyone that's still alive and get out of here. W-we could go to the Citadel! That's where the brotherhood is! Ember?"

Ember completely blew her off. She didn't care about what anyone had to say, what anyone wanted her to do, or where they were supposed to go. The one, single thought that occupied her mind, was that her father was dead. She wanted to stay here and mourn her father, beg him to get up so they could leave.

"Ember?" Dr. Li repeated. When she got no reply, she put her hand on Ember's shoulder and shook it a little, as if to get Ember moving.

Ember shrieked back from her touch, "Go Away!" She screamed, her usual warm blue eyes turned into ice. She held that expression for a mere second before her eyes softened into vulnerability, and she returned to crying. Dr. Li was startled by her reaction, and turned to Charon for help. He forced himself to look at her, and his chest immediately began to ache. She was a complete mess, her usual fiery self was gone, leaving only a tamed fire on the brink of being extinguished.

"Ember.." He said softly. When she didn't react, he stepped forward and knelt behind her, calling her name again. She turned around, her face stained with tears and her eyes red. She crawled into him and he put his arms around her. She buried her face into his chest and sobbed. He put his hand on her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"We have to move, Ember. The Enclave will be after us. We need to listen to Dr. Li and escort the remaining scientists to the Citadel. Your father's research lives on in them, he would have wanted you to do this."

After a few more seconds she quieted down, and stood up. Charon followed and they both looked to Dr. Li. She gathered her composure and repeated her plan. "The Citadel, Brotherhood of Steel headquarters. It's the only way to escape from the memorial. I'll gather up the remaining scientists and meet you in the taft tunnels."

Ember nodded and she entered the taft tunnels from within the rotunda, Charon following shortly behind. She took the time allotted to reload her rifle and regain her composure. She would kill every last Enclave that came within her sights. She would destroy the faction that caused her father's death, and she would very much enjoy doing it. Not even a minute later, Dr. Li and the remaining scientists entered the tunnels.

"Lets move." She said coldly, and the others obeyed.

They advanced quickly, stealthily through the taft tunnels. With Charon being there, the feral ghouls were kept at bay, however the Enclave were still scattered about. Ember licked her lips and eagerly took out those targets, unleashing her rage on them. About half way through the tunnels, Dr. Li stopped the pack.

"What is it?" Ember said, knocked back into reality from her killing spree of vengeance.

"It's Garza...He's got a heart condition and it's really starting to give him trouble. He won't make it to the Citadel unless he gets some stimpaks into him."

Ember looked at Garza, seated on the ground clinging to his chest. She sighed, "How many is it going to take?"

Dr. Li bit her lip in thought. "I can probably fix him up with five until we get to the Citadel."

Ember groaned. She only had six stimpaks left. If she gave Dr. Li five, the rest of them would be left with only one. "Here." She said as she handed her the stimpaks.

Garza thanked Ember immensely as Dr. Li fixed him up. After Garza was treated, they traveled through the rest of the tunnels. A few more Enclave soldiers later, they made their way past a Brotherhood of Steel soldier guarding the door up to the Citadel. He wasn't particularly glad to see that there were locals running around in the sewers, but he let them pass. After reaching the topside, Dr. Li argued into the intercom to let the group in. The gates shifted open and they entered the Citadel.

A frail elderly man stepped forward and Dr. Li followed the gesture. "The Enclave, they've taken control of the purifier."

They continued speaking among themselves, and the man, Elder Lyons, was noticeably more disappointment with every word Dr. Li said.

"I cannot- I will not, allow the Enclave to control the one thing that could bring even the slightest spark of hope to these people!" He said.

After a few more minutes of discussion, Dr. Li bid him farewell and headed towards another building. Elder Lyons introduced himself to Ember and Charon and welcomed them to the Citadel. They acknowledged him and made their way towards the Citadel Laboratory.

As they walked, the death of Ember's father suddenly hit her again, and she had never felt so alone. She felt Charon's presence beside her and moved towards him. She wrapped her arm around his, and put her spare hand on his forearm, her face downcast. Charon glanced at her in surprise. When he saw her expression, with her sorrow radiating off of her, he gently pulled her arm off of his. Right before Ember could process the hurt of what she thought was rejection, he slid his fingers between hers and held her hand tightly. He reached over and put her other hand back onto his in its original place. Ember looked up into his eyes, which were warm and understanding, yet they held a strong gaze of something she couldn't quite make out, passion?

They walked on, hand in hand, towards the laboratory, and Ember let it escape her mind. All that mattered was this moment, when he finally let her in. She knew she wasn't alone, she had Charon, and he would never hurt her.

* * *

Sorry for such a late post :( Been really busy lately. Plus its a bit short and rushed. Sorry sorry sorry T^T


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"God damn." Ember frowned as she scoured the wasteland. She could feel the sweat dripping down the back of her neck. An annoyed groan escaped her lips.

"Why," she paused, " is it so damn hot?"

Charon followed behind her and chuckled lightly, watching her complain with exaggerated slouches and sighs.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." He said coolly.

"Why can't we already be there?" She would have gone on with her rant, if Charon hadn't grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her behind a nearby boulder.

She began to grumble but he slipped his hand over her mouth lightly, his attention focused intently on something from behind the rock. Suddenly, Ember could hear faint, deep voices. She looked at Charon with worry.

"Super mutants." Ember rolled her eyes as if to question why they were taking huge precautions for such a small threat.

"There's an overlord.." He said softly. He waited until the group of mutants were long gone before removing his hand from Ember's mouth.

Ember gasped for air dramatically and Charon smiled.

"Those things, they can never just stay in one place huh?" She continued after her question received a nod. "Not to mention, where we're going is infested with them."

"Well, of course the reward is never easy to get. It's just how life works."

"Yeah well life sucks." Ember shot back. "Anyway, we get this G.E.C.K. thing, and then we get out, okay? I spent more than enough time cramped up in those treacherous vaults."

The sun was lowering back into the ground when they finally reached the entrance of the Little Lamplight Caverns. Inside, Ember giggled hysterically as she watched Charon duck and squeeze between the smaller tunnels.

He groaned, annoyed, "Ugh, who the hell lives here, a bunch of kids? Honestly."

A few steps later, they reached the gate to Little Lamplight, with a petite boy standing arms-crossed on the other side of it.

"That's exactly who lives here, damn Mungo. Now get the fuck out before I catch your old."

Ember felt the cold slip back into Charon as he tensed up, probably restraining himself from punching the kid. Ember, on the other hand, smirked with amusement.

"Well good fucking golly, calm your butt cheeks, squirt. We're no mungos. In fact, we hate them just as much as you do." She assured the child.

"Is that right? Well... I guess it's all right for you to come in, but your friend better watch it. I'm the fucking mayor, and I'm not afraid to blow your fucking head off."

Ember could feel the anger radiating off of Charon as the gates slid open. She reached over and gave him a playful nudge along with a wink. He looked at her face and his body softened ever so slightly. He noticed her radiant blue eyes, the flawless porcelain skin in contrast to her raven hair, and that familiar daring grin she wore wherever she went. He thought she was the most beautiful being in the universe, and he was happy to see her smile again after losing her dad. How perfect she looked, how perfect she is, so perfect he could just-

"Hey, Zombie-butt-face! Stop gawking at the chick and get your ass in here already! I'm not holding the gate open for my fucking health!"

"This little bastard..." He whispered under his breath. He looked back to Ember who was trying to hide the blush in her cheeks and smiled.

He followed her throughout the tiny civilization as she asked around for supplies, food, and getting into the Vault. As he followed her around, trying not to bump into things and dodging the countless children running about, he remembered how they held hands at the Citadel. He remembered how happy he was and suddenly got the urge to hold her hand again.

"-Murder Pass." He slammed back into reality.

"What was that?"

Ember rolled her eyes and smiled, "Murder Pass? That's how we get into the vault."

"Ah. Sounds like a brilliant idea."

"Look, Oh Experienced One," she curtsied lightly as she said his new nickname, "it's the only way to get in, the back door is jammed and the normal entrance would kill me."

"Well, Murder Pass it is." He said bluntly.

Ember tried to keep a straight face but Charon could see the victory dance that was occurring inside of her. He almost wanted to pat her back and give her a cookie, but he was sure she would get offended, after accepting the cookie of course.

They strolled to the back of the caverns and Ember said her farewells to the kids, promising to visit them soon. Charon admired her as the kids begged her to stay the night and clung to her armor. She eventually plucked them all off, and they entered the lovely Murder Pass.

As soon as they stepped in, Ember could smell that familiar stench of flesh from the bags of mutilated goods the mutants left everywhere. She crouched and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to heighten her sense of touch and smell. She could almost make out a light vibration coming from the le-

"To the left." Charon said quietly from behind her.

She almost swore out loud. "Dammit you, I almost had that one!" She whispered viciously. Moving carefully around the corner, she poked the barrel of her rifle around the wall of rock.

As soon as she sensed the position of the mutant, she darted out, aimed, and fired. The mutant didn't have a chance before he fell with a groan.

Ember snickered to herself victoriously. "Surprise!" She whispered before breaking into laughter. She quickly remembered that Charon was behind her, and tried to cover up her pride. She coughed and continued on.

Many mutants later, the pair arrived at the entrance to Vault 87. Ember was ecstatic, the super mutants were quite wealthy in here, and she picked up multiple stealth boys, weapons, and other assorted goods.

They entered the vault and Ember was hit with sadness as she saw the familiar architecture. She remembered the memories of her friends, her childhood, and most importantly, her father. She pushed her hand into her chest as everything took over her thoughts. Tears began to blind her, and she flailed her arms out for Charon.

Within a second of searching, he was there.

"It's okay," he said soothingly as she buried herself in him, "let's go back."

She gripped his shirt as hard as she could, forcing back the sadness, the pain, the grief. "No."

The strength in her voice surprised him, and he looked down to see her eyes, powerful with twin lines of tears. "I don't want to go back." She said.

He tilted his head a bit as if to urge her on.

"I'm going to do this. I'll do it...for my Dad."

* * *

I'm sooooo sorry you guys T.T So late! :( sorry sorry sorry


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Inaccessible my _ass._" Ember said as she kicked one of the many doors in Vault 87.

Charon stood behind her patiently, waiting for the storm to pass.

"If you're going to make a door inaccessible, then don't make it at all! What is this damn blasphemy?!" She exclaimed as she gave it another swift kick. She stormed over to the next door, pressing the button violently. A pained mechanical noise was heard, but it opened. Ember's eyes lit up in delight.

"Finally!" She trotted happily into the room only to be greeted by a dead gruesome creature whose face was frozen into a grimace. She gripped her mouth before she could vomit and turned away.

Charon stepped in and studied the specimen. He looked at Ember with her extravagant expressions and quick mood changes. _That can't possibly be healthy for her brain. _He pondered.

"It looks like some kind of mutation gone wrong, but it's strapped to the gurney. It hasn't even started decomposing...couldn't have died too long ago-"

"Whatever the hell it is, it's freaking me out. Let's go please." She replied through her covered lips.

They continued down the hall until they detected faint voices in the room adjacent to them. Charon leaned in closer and peeked into the room. He darted in as Ember approached the doorway. A few shots later and two super mutants were dead at the hands of the Experienced One. As they progressed deeper into the vault, they started seeing trash and bags of mutilated limbs more often. Ember let Charon go first and clung to his gun strap. Many mutants later, the pair arrived at a series of rooms with various specimens in them. As they approached the last room, a voice startled them.

"Uh..Excuse me?"

"SHIT!" Ember said as she jumped out of her skin.

"What the hell?" Said Charon, scanning around the rooms for the voice's owner.

"Um. In here. Over here, please!"

They turned to see a calm super mutant, scratching his head as he spoke shyly into the intercom. Ember faced the wall and planted her head in it.

"That's it, the radiations got to me. I'm a goner. I knew I shouldn't have eaten those deviled eggs, they're ancient! Or maybe it was the mole rat steak? Those things are nasty. Seeing freakin' talking mutants here! HAHA-ha..." She sighed.

"Wait." Charon said as he walked up to the glass of the room. "What are you?"

The mutant scratched his head again and slouched a little. "Uh, well I'm a mutant. But not an evil mutant! I won't rip you apart I promise. Haha.." He chuckled nervously. "Hey uh, maybe you could get me out of here? There's a switch right over there-"

"Let a _Super Mutant _out? I don't think so." Charon said hesitantly.

"No, no. Please! I've been locked in here for..I don't even know how long! I'm not like the others, obviously. I'm different, I regained logic by reading the terminals in the vault! It's why they locked me here. Please, let me out. I know what you're here for. The G.E.C.K. right? I can get that for you just please! I know where it is!"

Charon contemplated the mutants deal. He turned around to get Ember's opinion, then turned back instantly since she was still convincing herself that she'd gone crazy.

He sighed, "Alright. I'll get you out, but if you even try to touch her, I'll kill you instantly."

He left the mutant to the control room, where he broke in and unlocked the mutant's cell, never taking his eyes off of Ember.

The mutant praised and thanked him as he walked back towards them.

"It's Fawkes by the way. The G.E.C.K. is this way."

Charon brought Ember back into reality, and after she curiously poked Fawkes for several minutes, they moved deeper into the vault. Fawkes eventually picked up a sledgehammer that was laying around. He beat his mutant brethren with so pity as they progressed.

"Here." He said as he directed them into a room.

As they approached the division within the room, Ember began feeling light-headed.

Fawkes looked back at Charon. "She's human, it's too irradiated for her to be near. Hold on, I'll get it for you." He vanished into the green smoke emitting from the room.

Ember leaned into Charon for support, and he wrapped his arm around her. She closed her eyes and nuzzled him slightly, making his heart ache. He took his other hand and stroked her hair. He was surprised to know that it was as soft as it looked, and he ran his fingers through it again and again.

She turned around to face him and looked up into his eyes. She was slightly startled at how expressive they were. They were soft, gentle...loving. She tilted her head, questioning him, hoping he'd say something she wanted to hear. Hoping he'd voice how he felt, so she would officially know that their feelings were mutual.

He wanted to tell her. He knew that she suspected it. He knew that she felt the same. He put his hands on either side of her face. His fingers looked so flawed next to her perfect skin. _Do it now_. He told himself.

"Ember.."

She kept her eyes on him.

"Ember, I..uh..I-"

Fawkes emerged from the fog. "Here it is!" He handed it to Ember and their eye contact broke. She looked disappointed but she gave Fawkes an appreciative smile and thanked him for his incredible help.

"No problem. Thank you for my freedom!"

They both said their goodbyes, hoping they would see him again, and walked towards the exit of the room. Charon felt a sudden painful blow to the back of his head. He looked in front of him as he saw an Enclave soldier knock Ember out and take the G.E.C.K. from her hands. He saw them drag her away as his vision began to blur. His heart thundered in panic within his chest. He reached out for her. _No...NO! _His eyes ceased to see as he blacked out and fell to the floor.

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I'm sorry! I know, I know T.T *braces self*

I love you guys :( Remember to leave a review! 3 Feedback is bomb


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Charon slowly regained consciousness, and found himself lying in an empty room aside from one metal locker. He attempted to rub his face, but his body was restricted in the cell. He blinked rapidly as his eyes adapted to the light, and found himself staring at a man with an annoyed expression.

Charon pulled at his restraints. "Who the hell are you? Where's Ember?"

"Colonel Autumn." He said, cutting Charon off. "I'll tell you where the girl is, when you give me the code."

"Code? What are you fucking talking about? Where's Ember?"

The Colonel chuckled. "Don't play dumb with me. Now you'll tell me what the code is," He pulled a 10mm pistol from his pocket, "or I'll shoot you dead, and the girl too."

Charon spat in his face and tugged on the restraints again. Autumn's face turned blood red, he pushed the barrel of the gun into Charon's skull, but was interrupted by the intercom.

"Let the Vault 101 girl and the ghoul go, I would like to speak with them."

Autumn scoffed, "President Eden, psh." He tapped the gun barrel on Charon's head. "You're lucky." The colonel left the cell in a huff as Charon's restraints unlocked and the force field blocking the entrance disappeared. He looked in the metal locker to find all of his possessions. Grabbing them, he ran out of the cell scouring the hall for Ember. Nothing. He became annoyed as the enclave soldiers directed him in the right direction, none knowing of Ember's position. As he progressed to level 2, he heard the colonel's voice come up on the intercom.

"The plans have changed. Kill the outsiders. That's an order."

Charon turned as the enclave soldiers pulled out their guns. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a frag grenade. After biting off the clip, he threw it behind him and sprinted ahead, firing at nearby soldiers. Their armor was virtually impenetrable, so he ripped a hunting knife from its holster. He darted left and right, trying to avoid as much plasma ammunition as possible. A soldier emerged from the left. Charon pushed his chin up and stabbed his knife into the small vulnerable crevice. He yanked his knife back out and watched the soldier grip his neck and drop to the ground. Huffing in success, he carried on, fighting his way through the maze. _Just survive, Ember._ He thought intensely.

Finally, he entered a room where two sentry bots stood above two dead soldiers.

"Continue on, the President is waiting." They said.

He went through another door to find a towering staircase. He heard a soft exchange of voices coming from the top. He sprinted up the stairs and froze as he heard Ember's voice.

"You're insane Eden..."

His motivation skyrocketed as he ran up the stairs to reach her. A sudden vibration rippled throughout the base. He gripped the edge of the railing as he saw Ember sprinting back down the stairs.

"Gogogogogogo!" She screamed at him. The vibrations appeared more frequently and the entire base groaned.

She pushed him back down the stairs, "The base is going to collapse, I made Eden self-destruct! _Hurry up._" She exclaimed.

"You did _what?"_

"Never mind! Let's go." They exited the room and Ember picked up a plasma rifle from one of the dead soldiers.

They were ecstatic to find the sentry bots killing the soldiers. They ran back through the base and into a rocky tunnel, equipped with a glimpse of the outside world. The base behind them went dead silent for a second, and then erupted into an explosion. Charon grabbed Ember's hand and pulled her in front of him. They exited the tunnel and jumped to the right, tumbling across the ground. Ember glanced up to see a group of Vertibirds escaping the base. She looked at the tunnel which was crumbling on itself, blocking its entrance.

They got up and trudged quickly away from the exploding base. Charon limped dizzily behind Ember, dazed from the impact. Charon sat on the ground exhausted, and Ember fell less gently, lying on her back.

He looked over at her, face covered in dust, clothes ripped, scratches tainting her arms. After standing and dusting his pants off, he grabbed her arms and hoisted her up.

She groaned with her eyes closed, making him do all the work. He pulled her into his chest and squeezed. Her body tensed up in surprise, and relaxed as she snaked her arms around his waist.

"Ember."

"Mm..." She leaned into him and squeezed back.

When he didn't reply, she pulled back and looked up to see his eyes watering. Her face was instantly filled with concern, but before she could say anything, he held both sides of her face and leaned in. Their lips touched and he felt her arms find their way up his chest and around his neck. Their kiss was soft and warm at first, but turned into something fiercer as time progressed. How long they had adored each other, and how hard it was to be separated. She tiptoed and the kiss deepened. After some time, they pulled back and he wiped the dust from her cheek with his thumb. He looked at her lovingly, appreciating her beauty, visible even through all the grime. She smiled at him and he would'nt let hesitation stop him now.

"Ember, I love you."

Her eyes glistened at his words, and as she pulled him back into an embrace, he knew she loved him as well.

"As I love you."

But hearing her say it was much better.

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Should I do some chapters on DLCs? If not then I'll probably end it in a chapter or two :( Let me know! Sorry it's short


	14. Sorry guys :

Wow, this is BAD folks. I'm sorry for writing so horribly x.x I'm not really sure if I'll continue this. It's kind of embarrassing, haha. I'm sorry.


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